The World and Back

by Alexander Bossakov ’20

Dickinson has long been lauded for its global campus and international education. A large part of the programs, values and resources behind that distinction are led by the Center for Global Study & Engagement (CGSE). In 2017, once again, the number of international students on campus increased. New programs have been established and new short-term and long-term ones are in the works around the world.

Recently, CGSE released a 2022 strategic plan with the goal of expanding and perfecting our global campus, both in Carlisle and across six continents. The commitment to our Dickinson programs is continually being enhanced—after all, our history with these programs spans over several decades and mobility between our partner programs is directly associated with a constant two-way flow of students and faculty, including up to 30 exchange students on campus every year and more than a dozen visiting international scholars. Objectives outlined in the strategic plan include prioritizing and creating support for programs in the Global South, promoting intellectual curiosity and enhancing Dickinson’s understanding of vitally important global issues and actively developing intercultural competence with the idea of creating a more inclusive campus.

New programs include a strategic expansion of the Dickinson Nilsson Center in Bologna, Italy. Dickinson’s Bologna program, dating back to 1965 when the first 16 Dickinsonians sailed to Italy on the S.S. Castel Felice, was established as an English lanuage program with European studies at its foundation. Beginning fall 2018, the Bologna center will accommodate a second standalone program to address the need for a focus on Italian language immersion.

CGSE just launched a pilot program with Yunnan University in Kunming, China, which is in addition to a longstanding program at Peking University in Beijing. The creation of this partnership was the result of a “natural connection,” says Samantha Brandauer ’95, associate provost and executive director of CGSE, following an exchange of visiting faculty between Dickinson and Yunnan University over the past few years. The program is to offer an alternative to the big-city Beijing locale in a culturally and ethnically rich region. Kunming also represents CGSE’s emphasis on the importance of establishing programs in atypical places where students can truly immerse themselves in the local language and culture.